by the wild Welsh tribes sixteen hundred
or more years ago.

A few miles farther, mainly through narrow byways, brought us to
Buildwas Abbey, beautifully situated near the Severn. Evidently this
fine ruin is not much frequented by tourists, for we found no custodian
in charge, and the haunts of the old monks had been converted into a
sheepfold by a neighboring farmer. Yet at one time it was one of the
richest and most extensive monasteries in England. On our return to
Shrewsbury, we passed through Much Wenlock, a very ancient town,
which also has its ruined abbey. It is remarkable how thickly these
monastic institutions were at one time scattered over the Kingdom, and
when one considers what such elaborate establishments must have cost to
build and to maintain, it is easy to understand why, in the ages of
church supremacy, the common people were so miserably poor.

[Illustration: RUINS OF URICONIUM, NEAR SHREWSBURY.]

Aside from the places of historic interest that we visited on this trip,
the country through which we passed would have made our half day a
memorable one. Though the continual rain intercepted the view much of
the time, yet from some of the hilltops we had vistas of the Severn
Valley with its winding river that we hardly saw surpassed in a country
famous for lovely landscapes. We regretted later that our stay at
Shrewsbury was so short, for we learned that in the immediate vicinity
there are many other places which might well have occupied our
attention; but in this case, as in many others, we learned afterwards
the things we should have known before our tour began.

Late in the afternoon we started for Ludlow. It was still raining--a
gray day with fitful showers that never entirely ceased but only varied
in intensity. Much of the beauty of the landscape was hidden in the gray
mist, and the distant Welsh hills, rich with soft coloring on clear
days, were entirely lost to us. Yet the gloomy day was not altogether
without its compensation, for if we had visited Stokesay when the
garish sunshine gilded "but to flaunt the ruins gray," we should have
lost much of the impression which we retain of the gloom and desolation
that so appropriately pervaded the unique old manor with its timbered
gatehouse and its odd little church surrounded by thickly set
gravestones.

[Illustration: STOKESAY MANOR HOUSE, NEAR LUDLOW.]

It was only by an accidental glance at our road-book that we saw
Stokesay Castle as an "o